SCG's next success story could be USL partnership

SCG Fields was hired at the “very last minute” to install a grass field prior to Louisville City FC’s win in the USL Cup.

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SCG Fields installed 16 fields for a $150 million spring training complex that the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals debuted in February.

There was a nine-day span between Louisville City FC's win over New York in the Eastern Conference final and the United Soccer League club's title-clinching victory in the USL Cup on Nov. 13.

That gave SCG Fields, a Brecksville construction company that transitioned full-time to sports once it landed a job installing the playing surface prior to the 1994 debut of Jacobs Field, a sufficient amount of time to transform Louisville's minor league baseball stadium into a pristine, all-grass soccer pitch.

"We approached them at the last minute — very last minute," said Josh Keller, the USL's director of business development, of SCG Fields.

The reason: The soccer league that doubles as a feeder system of sorts for Major League Soccer didn't want its championship match being played on a field that had synthetic turf placed over the dirt portions of the home of the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

Four days before the USL Cup, SCG's crew laid the sod, and the field drew rave reviews for what wound up being a 1-0 Louisville victory played before 14,456 fans.

"They were working on the field right up until Saturday (Nov. 11)," said Joseph Smith, SCG's chief operating officer.

Tight timelines are as common to SCG as a 1-0 score is to a soccer fanatic.

In February, the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals debuted their $150 million spring training complex, which was built in 15 months and had 16 fields that were installed by SCG in West Palm Beach, Fla. The big-league clubs each have practice fields that mimic the dimensions of their home ballparks, plus five other full-sized fields.

The project was an eight-figure coup for SCG, which has become an industry leader for installing grass and synthetic turf surfaces for the likes of the Browns, Indians, New York Yankees and Denver Broncos.

Just this year, SCG has done work for Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Kent State, and as of mid-November, the company was closing in on finalizing a contract with a notable NCAA Division I conference. SCG also installed the football fields the Browns donated to five Cleveland schools, and it's putting in a new warning track at Progressive Field.

"We had 12 (projects) going on this year at one particular time, and that can be multiple fields at each one," said SCG president Paul Franks, who, according to his company bio, is known as "the Godfather of Turf."

A typical field costs between $400,000 and $700,000, Smith said, and natural grass surfaces, such as the homes of the Astros and Nationals, often go for more.

The workload — displayed by pinpoints scattered on a map in Smith's office — has led to "significant" growth in annual revenue, the SCG COO said, though he would not provide a specific revenue figure.

"But it's a challenge in this industry because it's big work," Smith said. "There's a lot of competition. We're no different than other contractors. That's what we are, a contractor."

And while gaining separation in a cluttered field is anything but easy, a recent deal SCG struck with the USL could lead to at least 30 new professional sports clients.

Successful soccer pitch

In late September, the USL, a pro league that debuted in 2011, announced that SCG was its "official field builder."

Considering the Division II soccer league (with MLS operating one slot above it in the U.S. Soccer hierarchy) has more than doubled in size in the last three seasons and plans to launch a Division III league in 2019, the deal is a significant one for SCG.

Keller, the director of business development for USL Division III, said the "conservative" timeline is for that division to open with eight to 12 teams, then eventually increase "to 30-40 franchises."

The USL, meanwhile, is adding four new franchises for 2018, and two more the following year. A few of its cities are candidates for open expansion slots in MLS, but even with a couple defections, the league could have at least 34 clubs in 2019.

"Between the two (Divisions II and III), we could be adding 30, 40, 50 new franchises," Keller said.

Each team isn't going to build a new facility, but the ones that do likely would be adding a practice facility, which Smith said typically includes two natural grass fields and one synthetic surface.

Also not a guarantee is that each USL franchise will select SCG to install its new playing surfaces, but that decision will be encouraged by the league.

"It's not mandatory," Keller said. "But when we hear they're looking to build or renovate a venue, we say, 'Hey, talk to these guys first.' They have the knowledge; they understand our league. Ultimately, we want our teams to have the best facilities and pitches out there for the benefit of the league as a whole."

SCG believes that makes it the obvious choice. And the Brecksville firm can point out to each club that it is installing the pitch for the 19,400-seat stadium that Minnesota United, an MLS expansion club, will open in 2019.

"That help brings confidence to the people that have to make decisions," said Franks, the company president.

'Zero time' for problems

Soccer is a big growth market for SCG, but Franks said minor league baseball accounts for the most significant chunk of the business.

And the 30-year industry vet thinks lacrosse "is going to be the next" sport for which the company sees a big spike in jobs.

On average, SCG, which is owned by insurance industry veteran D. Michael Sherman, has 50 employees, Franks said, but the total can reach 75 during the crazy summer season.

A dozen of the firm's workers are in Brecksville, and a Florida office has 10 employees. Soon, Smith said, the company will be adding a satellite office in New Mexico, which will add to its West Coast presence.

But it's the Sunshine State — where SCG has recently installed fields for the University of Miami and Ave Maria University, plus done work at the Citrus Bowl and the Naval Air Station Key West — that Franks believes could account for half of the company's employees in the future.

There, they've dealt with hurricanes — most recently when Irma knocked down a set of bleachers and ripped up the football field at Ave Maria.

"Everything is so fast-paced once we get into a project," said Franks, whose son, Chris, is an SCG executive vice president. "There's zero time for any kind of issue. You got to problem-solve ahead of the problem."

That's served SCG well for more than two decades, and the work has continued to pick up — from high school surfaces, to soccer pitches, to the NFL and MLB.

"They can answer the questions we don't even know to ask," said the USL's Keller.